"We have enjoyed working with Bolser now for over two years... first transforming our website experience for our visitors, and now improving digital engagement and commercial performance. The Bolser team have been key partners in our efforts to drive awareness & footfall, developing a more effective digital strategy and helping us to achieve positive commercial outcomes."

 

Tim Allnutt, Head of Marketing and Communications, RAF Museum

The challenge 

Turning a legacy website into a modern digital experience  

The RAF Museum needed a complete overhaul of its website — one that would reflect its national significance, improve the digital visitor journey, and deliver a best-in-class user experience. The goal was to better serve existing visitors while attracting new audiences and supporting the Museum’s long-term 2030 strategy.

The existing site was outdated, with accessibility challenges, slow performance, and a complex structure that made navigation difficult. The Museum wanted a visually striking, intuitive platform that captured the impressive scale of its collections and brought the in-person experience to life online. Crucially, the new site needed to position the Museum as a must-visit destination for families and aviation enthusiasts, while driving increased footfall and deeper digital engagement. 

What we did

Research led UX Design for increased engagement & conversion

We began with a comprehensive discovery phase, engaging stakeholders from both the London and Midlands sites, conducting visitor interviews on-site, and analysing user behaviour across the existing website. This gave us a clear understanding of the digital team’s goals, the needs of their audiences, and the key challenges in the current user journey. 

Guided by these insights, we adopted an iterative approach to redesign and develop the existing WordPress platform — creating a modern, engaging, and accessible website experience: 

  • Delivered a mobile-first experience, optimised for users on the go.
  • Designed high-impact, captivating landing pages to engage time-poor users and drive conversions.
  • Re-structured and re-designed the navigation system to surface key content quickly and intuitively.
  • Ensured full accessibility compliance with WCAG standards, supporting a wider range of users.
  • Developed custom, engaging page templates.
  • Integrated rich visuals and storytelling to bring the Museum’s collections, exhibitions and events to life online.
  • Optimised site performance and load speed, improving the overall user experience and SEO ranking. 
     

 

The Results 

The new RAF Museum website launched in time for Easter 2025 to positive feedback from both internal teams and external users. Early indicators show an increased engagement, and the platform is already proving to be a strong foundation for future growth.  

  • 'Book now' clicks have increased by 124%
  • Priority keyword rankings have significantly increased  
  • Engagement time on the site has increased by 87%
  • Both branded and unbranded search clicks have increased  

As the site continues to evolve, it will play a key role in supporting the Museum’s wider digital and strategic ambitions.